Message from the AD Contributing Series - Jackie Wallgren

Zips Nation,

As we head into the conclusion of our winter sports season and begin warming up for the spring slate, we thought it would be interesting for our fans to get some deep dive insights from vital areas across the athletic department. Last month, we featured Marketing and Communications with Associate Athletic Director, Marketing – Seth McFall. This month (February) Sr. Associate AD & SWA, Jackie Wallgren will provide insights on Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) and the Transfer Portal.

As stated earlier, each month through June 2024, we'll be taking a page out of NFL writer extraordinaire Peter King's book and feature a series of guest columns highlighting happenings in key leadership areas including Marketing and Communications (January 2024), Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) and Transfer Portal (February 2024), March Madness and Spring Football Update (March 2024), Fundraising and Day of Giving (April 2024), Capital Projects and Completed Facility Projects (May 2024) and we'll round out with Budget and Financial Operations (June 2024).

If you have specific questions about any of these critical functions feel free to send them our way via email or X direct message and I'll pass them along as our team prepares their updates for the Zips community. I'm excited to kick off the series with an update on our marketing and communications efforts.

AD Guthrie

Guest Message from the AD featuring Jackie Wallgren, Sr. Associate Athletic Director & Senior Woman Administrator (SWA)

Hello Zips Fans! Lately, I'm sure you've been seeing lots of things in the news about name, image, and likeness (NIL). A lot has happened since July 2021, when it became legal for student-athletes to monetize their NIL while playing in the NCAA, and we will undoubtedly see a lot more change in this area as the market for student-athlete NIL evolves.

There has been a lot of talk about rules changes, and just last week a federal court weighed in on a case challenging whether NIL should be part of the recruitment process, granting an injunction to prevent the NCAA from governing NIL-recruitment issues while the case plays out in court. All of the legal back and forth, combined with the wide-ranging news stories of big NIL deals at flagship institutions across the country, can make it intimidating to get started with NIL. So, today, I wanted to take a few moments to tell you about what we're up to at Akron regarding NIL and also give you some information about how you can get involved.

First, it is important to know that NIL deals can be a wide variety of things and for many different price points. In the news, we see stories about student-athletes receiving cars and other expensive NIL deals. These large-scale deals are great, but there is a lot more to NIL than big splashy payments. For example, maybe you'd like a custom Akron sweatshirt with your favorite player's name on the back. Or, maybe you'd like to have a Zip congratulate your daughter for her graduation with a video shout out. Perhaps you'd like to have your son's favorite player stop by his birthday party to say hello to him and his friends. These are all examples of the endless possibilities, since NIL deals are now permissible in the NCAA.

You may be wondering, "those deals all sound great, but how do I make that happen?" Akron Athletics has you covered. We have partnered with INFLCR to provide the Go Zips Exchange – a marketplace where you can connect with Zips student-athletes. On the Go Zips Exchange, you can message student-athletes, determine the terms of your NIL deal, and even pay the student-athlete directly through the INFLCR site. Since the Akron coaches and staff aren't permitted to help negotiate deals for student-athletes, the Go Zips Exchange makes it simple for fans to connect with student-athletes without having to try to find them on social media or at a competition.

Our student-athletes are eager to get to work and connect for NIL deals with our community, and we'd love to see our fans engage with our student-athletes through the Go Zips Exchange. If you have questions about NIL or how to get started on the Go Zips Exchange, please do not hesitate to reach out to me directly for help (jwallgren@uakron.edu). Your support of our student-athletes, whether through NIL or by rooting for your favorite team, is greatly appreciated – thanks to all of you for all that you do to support the Zips!

Go Zips!

Jackie

The University of Akron Athletics

Message from the AD Contributing Series - Jackie Wallgren

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